Pneumatic musical instrument



O s 1929. A. P. GUSTAFSON 1,730,847

PNEUIA'IIC MUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 14, 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 3, 1929. A. P. GU-STAFSON I 7 PNEUIATI C HUS ICAL INSTRUMENT Filed March 14. 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 8, 1929 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ADOLPH P. GUSTAFSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO M. SCHULZ COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS PNEUMATIC MUSICAL INSTRUMENT Application filed March 14, 1922. Serial No. 543,628.

My invention relates'to pneumatic musical instruments, and particularly to a pneumatic musical instrument having a tracker bar or board and a pneumatic action operated through the instrumentality of a music sheet travelling over said tracker board.

The principal object of .the invention is to provide an arrangement by which the expression of the music may be automatically controlled to secure any one of a plurality of loud and soft eliects, that is, either fortissimo, forte mezzo, forte, piano, and so on.

Another object of the invention is to secure this automatic control of the tone efiects by means of the music sheet and tracker board.

Another object of the invention is to secure simplicity in construction and operation.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a view largely diagrammatic of a tracker board and music sheet therefor and cooperating mechanism for securing the aforesaid tone effects.

Figs. 2, 3 and a are cross sections taken on lines 2-2, 3--3 and 14 respectively, in

' Fig. 1;

' 33 and the music sheet having playing perforat-ions 4-4 to cooperate with the apertures 3-3.

The tracker board also has four extra or additional apertures 5, 6, 7 and 8, shown at the left hand side of the tracker, referring to Fig. 1. These extra apertures are for the purpose of controlling the tone expression as will be more fully pointed out hereafter. The music sheet 2 is shown with special perforations 9, 10,11 and 12 adapted to cooperate with the apertures 5, G, 7 and 8, respectively.

The apertures 33 are understood to be the regular tracker apertures and to be connected in the usual manner with striking pneumatics comprising the striking action. The special apertures 5, 6, '7 and 8 are connected with special tubes 13, I l, 15 and 16, respectively.

These tubes 13, 1st, 15 and 16 run to a primary wind chest 17 which is understood to be properly mounted in the instrument. This wind chest 17 is provided with a longitudinally extending vacuum or exhaust chamber 18, one end of which is connected by means of tubes 19 and 20 with the main exhaust chest or pneumatic pressure reducing apparatus, so as to maintain a vacuum or condition of reduced air pressure normally in the chamber 18 when the instrument is in use. Within the chamber 18 are a series of small power pneumatics 22, 23, 2aand 25, (Fig. 1). Each of these pneumatics is provided with a passage or duct 26 and the latter are provided with tubular members 27 having connections 28, these pneumatics 22, 23, 24E and being connected with the tubes 13, 14;, 15 and16, respectively, so that when any one of the apertures 5, 6, 7 or 8 is uncovered by a music sheet perforation 9, 10, 11 or 12, the corresponding pneumatic 22, 23, 24 or 25 will be actuated, that is it will be expanded by air rushing into the tracker tubes 13, 14, 15 or 16, and then into the connected pneumatic.

The aforesaid pneumatics 22, 23, 24 and 25 are provided with arms 30 having hooks 31 engaging and supporting valves 32, which latter are located below a partition or wall 33 having apertures 34: which serve as ports and are controlled by the valves 32, the arrangement being such that when any one of the pneumatics 22, 23,. 2% or 25 is collapsed, its valve 32 will close its port 34, but when said pneumatic is expanded by air from the against the pressure of the spring 53.

tracker board, this valve 32 will be depressed and thereby open its port 34.

The valves 32 are located in valve chambers 35 which communicate with an air duct 36, so that said valves 32 are normally held in closed condition. The valve chambers 35 are also provided with ducts or passages 37 leading to and connected with tubular mem bers 38, 39, and 41, which it will be seen are always normally in communication with the outside air through the air duct 36, but which are placed in communication with the vacuum chamber 18 when tie corresponding valve or valves 32 are depressed, the air chamber 36 being. shut off and the communication established with the vacuum chamber 18 through the corresponding port or ports 34.

The tubular members 38., 39, 40 and 41 run to a second or secondary valve chest 42 and are there connected to four pneuinatics 43, 44, and 46, the tube 38 connected with pneumatic 43, the tube 39 with pneumatic 44, the tube 40 with pneumatic 45 and tube 41 with pneumatic 46. These pneumatics 43, 44, 45 46 are mounted on said wind chest 42 in annular order around a common center and are provided with operating arms 4848 which extend radially inward toward said center. A valve stem 49 is arranged at said center and provic ed with a valve 50 which controls a port 51. The valve stem 49 is provided with ahead 52 which is arranged to slide thereon and is under the control of a spring 53 mounted on the valve stem and having its tension capable of adjust ment by an adjustable nut 54 having set screw 55. The actuating arms 48 on the pncu matics 43, 44, etc. extend underneath the head 52 and are acted upon by the spring tension of said head, so that they are normally held down, in which condition their pneumatics are all expanded as shown in Fig. 2. l z lien, however, one of said pneu so on, is collapsed, its actuating arm 48 will be swung upwardly so as to push the sliding head 52 along the valve stem 49 toward and If now the meumatics 42,. 44 and so on operate with varying power. 1t will be apparent that the head 53 will be held with varying power, ac

cording to the pneumatic operating against it, and consequently the valve 50 will be held against its seat 51 with varying power and accordingly different degrees of pneumatic tension will be required to pull said valve 50 sutficiently to open its port 51. Such varying degree in the pneumatics 43, 44 and so on may be secured in various ways, as for example by varying the size of said pneumatics or otherwise, In the present arrangement 1: show the pneumatics mace of difierent size and also certain of them provided with adjustable devices for controlling their throw or extended movement and thereby controllmgtheir power. For example, pneumatic natics 43, 44 and,

43, 44 and 45 are shown of about the same size but pneumatic 46 substantially larger than the others. This of course makes pneumatic 46 more powerful than the others. To vary the power of the others they are provided with adjustable screws 5757 and these are seU to allow different degrees or amounts of throw or movement on the part of the several swinging members of said pneumatics. For example, as shown in Fig. 2, screw 57 is screwed well into the swinging member of pneumatic 43, so that its inner end 57 is but sl ghtly separated from its fixed member, per iitting only a sli 'ht extent of movement on the part of the swinging menu her and thus producing only a moderate amount of power in said pneumatic. The set screw 5? in pneumatic 44 is not screwed in so far, allowing greater throw, and thereby giving more power to said pneumatic and the set screw 5'? of pneumatic 45 is not screwed in as far as the screw of pneumatic 44, whence pneumatic will be more powerful than either of the other two.

As a preferred arrangement the pneumatic is adjusted to give about nine lbs. pres sure, the pneumatic 44 to give about twelve lbs, pneumatic 45 to give about twentylive lbs. and pneumatic 46 to give about thirtyiive lbs. Thus a correspondingly varying amount of power will be required to open the valve 50.

The valve 50 opens into a chamber 60 communicating by a duct 61 with the vacuum chest 62 which is understood to communicate wit the striking or operating action of the instrument.

Valve 62 controls valve seat oz and thereb controls wind to the pneumatic action. Hence there will be created in the chest 62 pneumatic tension varying in accordance with the relative strengths of the pneumatics 43, 44 and so on, as previously set forth, and consequently the pneumatic tension applicable to the operating or'striking action of the instrument will be in accordance with those tensions. Hence the opening of any one of the tracker apertures 5, 6, 7 and 8 by a corresponding perforation in the music sheet 2, will cause a predetermined relative tension to be applied to the striking or operating action of the instrument, and thereby yield the desired tone control. The strongest tension produced by the tracker aperture 8 cooperating with primary pneumatic 25 and through tube 41 with the strongest secondary pneumatic 46, will produce fortissirno tone expression in the instrument. Similarly opening of aperture 7 will through tube 15, primary pneumatic 24, tube 40 and secondary pneumatic 45, produce forte. Similarly tracker aperture 6 resulting in operation of secondary pneumatic 44 will produce mezzo forte, and tracker aperture 5 and secondary pneumatic 43 will produce piano. A still lighter or less powerful operation of tl-e striking action will be secured when no one of the tracker apertures 5, 6, 7 or 8 is open, and this lighter and in fact lightest operation will be considered pianissimo. This latter action will be normally produced all the time when none of the special tracker apertures 5, 6, 7 and 8 is open. Thus it will be seen that the device will produce automatic control of the tone expression and this in a very simple and expeditious manner by means of the tracker board and music sheet.

In Figs. 3 and 5 I have shown in detail an arra ment for guiding the air current as it pes through the wind chest 42. This comprises a series of partitions (Sowhich are covered with felt 66, thereby preventing the hissing sound common in music instruments of this kind.

It will be understood that changes and modifications may be made without depart ing from the spirit of the invention.

lVhat I claim is:

1. The combination of a tracker board having a series of special apertures, a series of primary valve mechanisms connected individually with said apertures, a vacuum chest provided with a controlling valve and a series of power pneumatics individually connected with said valve mechanisms and having different degrees of strength and means whereby said pneumatics individually actuate said vacuum chest controlling valve.

2. The combination of a tracker board having a series of special apertures, a series of primary valve mechanisms connected individually with said apertures, a vacuum chest provided with a controlling valve and a series of power pneumatics individually connected with said valve mechanisms and having different degrees of strength, and means where by said pneumatics individually actuate said vacuum chest controlling valve, said mechanism comprising lever arms carried by the pneumatics, a valve spindle attached to the valve, and a spring controlled head on the valve spindle.

3. The combination of a tracker having a series of supplemental openings, a primary valve mechanism connected with said openings, pneumatic mechanism connected with the primary valve mechanism and means controlled by said pneumatic mechanism for controlling the efiective pressure of the instrument, said pressure controlling mechanism comprising a series of pneumatics individually controlled by said pneumatic mechanism and an action controlling valve controlled by said last mentioned pneumatics, said pneumatics being arranged in annular order around said valve.

4. The combination with a pressure controlling valve of a series of pneumatics arranged to actuate the same arranged in annular order around said valve and having movable members each adapted to independently control the valve.

5. The combination of a pressure controlling valve, and a series of pneumatics arranged in annular order around the same, said pneumatics having operating members each adapted to act upon an abutment on the valve stem.

6. The combination of a pressure controlling valve and a series of pneumatics arranged in annular order around the same, said pneumatics having operating members each adapted to act upon an abutment on the valve stem, said pneumatics being of different strength.

7. The combination with a tracker and a primary valve chest, of a pressure control valve having a seating portion, and an operating rod, and a head having resilient connection with said rod and operable to operate the rod by a plurality of pneumatics arranged about said head.

8. The combination with a tracker and a primary valve chest, of a pressure control valve having a seating portion, a central operating stem for said valve, a slidable head on said stem and resiliently connected thereto, said head being operable by a plurality of ad justable pneumatics having lever members for engaging said head.

9. The combination with a tracker and a primary valve chest, of a pressure control valve having a seating portion, an elongated stem for said valve, a head slidably adjustable thereon and resiliently connected thereto, and a plurality of variable pressure pneumatics arranged to be actuated by the pressure so controlled.

10. The combination with a tracker and a primary valve chest, of a pressure control valve having a seating portion, a central elongated operating stem for said valve, a head having an aperture adapted for slidable mounting on said stem, means to adjustably and resiliently connect said head to said stem, and actuating means comprising a plurality of variable pressure pneumatics arranged about said stem and adapted to actuate said head either singly or in combination.

11. The combination of a pressure control valve provided with a valve stem which in turn is provided with a spring controlled head, of a series of pneumatics arranged around said valve stem and having their movable members provided with elements for engaging and actuating said head.

12. The combination of a pressure control valve provided with a stem which in turn is provided with a spring controlled slid-ably mounted head and a series of pneumatics arranged around said valve stem and having their movable members provided with extensions adapted to engage said head.

13. The combination of a pressure control valve provided with a valve stem which in turn is provided with a spring controlled head of a series of neumatics arranged around said valve stem and having their movable members provided with elements for engaging and actuating said head, said pneumatics being of difl'erent size and strength.

14. The combination of a pressure control valve'having a valve stem provided with an adjustable spring controlled head and a series of pneumatics arranged radially around said valve stem and having their movable members provided with extensions which extend underneath said head and are adapted to actuate the same.

In wltness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 2nd day of March, A. 1)., 1922.

ADOLPH P. GUSTAFSON. 

